A nationwide three months campaign targeting teenagers and young adults aged between 16 and 40 is expected to kick off this week with an aim to raise mental health awareness and decrease the stigma about the illness, The New Times can reveal.

The campaign which will cost approximately Rwf30 million is championed by Imbuto Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Culture, the MasterCard Foundation and the Rwandan Graduates Genocide Survivors Organisation (GAERG).

The campaign is expected to run until June.

In a telephone interview with this publication, the Executive Secretary of GAERG, Fidel Nsengiyaremye said that different formats will be used, all with an aim to achieve a shift in cultural and social norms as well as an improvement in the number of people seeking and accessing mental health services.

GAERG works with about 2,500 people who are split into 168 groups spread all over 25 districts countrywide.

He explained that Covid-19 challenges saw some people develop mental health issues and also worsened the situation for those that had them prior to the pandemic.

"The pandemic has tested people’s mental health coping methods, with some expressing anxiety, stress, fear, and general uncertainty about their future. The people who were already having psychological difficulties are now at an even higher risk because of Covid-19,” he said.

Nsengiyaremye said that during the campaign, the stakeholders hope to raise awareness about detection of signs and symptoms of mental health issues, the value of early professional consultation and to evaluate the mental health knowledge level in the community.  

"We are hoping to use this campaign to reduce the myths around psychological conditions but also we will share contacts of all mental health centres, clinics, hospitals, and trained community peer educators,” he said.

Under-funded sector

The Director of the Psychiatric Care Unit at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, Dr Jean-Damascène Iyamuremye, told The New Times in a previous interview that there is need for more funds to be injected into this area to support treatment.

"Mental health is still underfunded yet we need to coordinate activities of treatment and prevention, fighting stigma against victims and we need to raise awareness regarding access to treatment,” he said.

The Director of Survivors Fund (SURF),  Samuel Munderere agrees. He says that the current challenges that survivors are facing is a reminder of the funding gaps in mental healthcare.

"Considering that globally, mental healthcare is underfunded and its effects underestimated, there is a big funding gap that needs to be addressed fast because the effects of Covid-19 are going to be felt for years to come,” he said.

He pointed out that the Covid-19 crisis has increased mental health challenges among survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, where lockdowns enforced by the government to mitigate the spread of the virus have left some without the means to access their medication.

He also pointed out the challenge that some survivors who were participating in group therapy sessions were unable to continue due to restrictions on movement, setting most of them steps back on their progress.

According to Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), depression prevalence is at 11.9 per cent within the general population and as high as 35.6 per cent are genocide survivors. This means one in three genocide survivors faces trauma.

Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stands at 3.6 per cent